Waiting for my Hero
by The Monster Alice
Summary: Brielle is a fan girl like most fans of the female population that watches Markiplier. What makes her so special from the rest? Absolutely nothing... except when he needed her as much as she needed him.
1. So Sorry

I saw the head lights coming right at me. It was too close for me to react. I tried to swerve out of the way but time suddenly slowed and I found that I was too late. My life flashed before my eyes and I began to relive the last several months of my life.

* * *

It was July and I was floating through the thick crowd of Comic Con. I wanted to cosplay but I couldn't get the materials for it in time. So I wore a dark purple shirt with the classic 'Alice in Wonderland' Cheshire Cat and straight blue jeans. There were so many people I wanted to meet, places to see, costumes to fangirl over; I was just so excited to do it all.

It was so nice to be surrounded by so many loving fandoms. By midday, I had arms full of bags worth of autographs and souvenirs. It wasn't much for some Comic Con regulars but it was the best for my first time. I had just finished at the Marvel booth when I saw a swarm of people - not that it was anything out of the usual. At the front of them all was the Fischbach brothers. It was nice to see my favorite artist and youtuber pleasantly overwhelmed by smiling faces; they seemed to be happy.

After some waiting, I got a signed picture of a Two Kinds poster from Tom and was now standing in front of Markiplier. There was a large grin on his face and my heart beat nearly broke a rib. I didn't want to act like a little fangirl when he looked at me. But if I was honest with myself, any woman would have trouble keeping herself from having a crush on him. I tried to shut off the thought of it since I was sure he wasn't looking for a certain lady friend in one of his fangirls. Nineteen was probably pretty young for him too. Gosh, I was such a lost cause. Finally, I walked up to him.

"Hi, eh, can I get your autograph?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course! Who too?" Mark answered, getting his pen ready.

"Brielle," I replied, having changed my name to that rather recently.

He nodded and I watched him write on the paper and then a moment later, I saw what he wrote. "To Brielle - Stay strong." I knew that he had written that same message to over a thousand people by now but for some reason... it shook my feelings and cut open a soft spot in my heart.

I didn't give myself the chance to cry but I couldn't stop the tears from trying to form so I hugged him hard and hid my face in his chest. I think he was surprised for a moment but then I felt him hug back.

"Hey, are you okay?" Mark asked, his voice laced with worry.

I remembered that there was still a large line waiting behind me. "I am sorry," I breathed, taking a quick step back.

"No, no, it's alright. Thanks for coming by!" he rushed as I already started to leave. That went nothing like how I imagined it going.

I arrived home that night and was laying in bed. Above me, I could hear the faint screams of a terrified Markiplier. Yeah, Mark lived in the apartment room above me. I always watched his videos through headphones because I was afraid he'd somehow hear it and realize he had a fangirl under his feet. Not Phantom of the Opera like at all.

I tossed myself onto my soft squishy bed, trying not to look at the ceiling. Mark was just a normal cool guy who made fun videos. Why did everyone have to be head over heels for him? Including little nobody me.

"To Brielle - Stay strong. - Mark Fischback"


	2. Coincidence?

It was just a week after Comic Con when I was at the grocery store. My cart just had a few essentials: bread, cheese, jar of caramel, apple juice, lemonade, Ed Sheeran. I started to turn around a corner to go down one of the isles but found my cart had stopped dead as it ran roughly into someone. Of course, as my luck would have it, it was none other than Markiplier himself. For the very first few seconds, I didn't make the connection that it was him. But the moment I did was the moment I opened my mouth and then came the out pour of rambling apologies before I had the chance to even stop and think. His brow was furrowed as he took in the situation and soon relaxed with a subtle hand over the part of him that had been ran into and almost seemed to chuckle at my never ending apologies.

"Hey, it's alright. No harm done," Mark snickered with a soft sweep of his arm over his, indeed, unharmed body. I noticed him stick his cellphone into his back pocket and realized that he probably hadn't been paying too much attention to where he was going either.

"Are you sure? I am sorry, I should have been more careful," I continued, feeling entirely embarrassed.

Mark put his hands up, allowing my voice to tapper off into silence before he replied, "I promise, I'm fine," with a smile.

I nodded and stood there in an awkward silence. He was probably expecting me to start walking or something but I couldn't move because he didn't seem to take a step away either. In fact, I finally realized that he was looking directly into my face with his eyes just above the rim of his glasses. A light blush crossed my face as I stood and let him take his... inspection? Finally, he seemed to finally remember that he was starring into my face and immediately started to laugh boyishly like he does.

"Sorry, didn't mean to stare. I'm Mark," he said, putting his hand out.

"Brielle," I answered him quietly, hesitantly lifting my hand to shake his.

His face seemed to almost go blank as I watched his mind process the information. Sure enough, a twinkle in his eye came into existence and a large smile broke open. I always enjoyed seeing that 'light bulb' expression on his face. It was quite amusing to see on a computer screen but even more so in real life after we stopped shaking hands.

"That's a hard name to forget! You were at Comic Con," he grinned, happy with himself that he remembered.

"Yep, you were there too," I smirked, a bit of courageous humor leaking out.

"Okay, I see how this is gunna be," he made a non-serious serious face then laughed. I couldn't help but laugh with him. His smile was so dang contagious that it was next to impossible to not at least smile with him.

"Well, I have to get going. It was really great talking with you! See ya," he smiled, waving his hand and started to walk off.

I watched him leave and finally was able to move my feet - and breath - once he was out of sight. Did I just have a casual grocery store conversation with the popular youtuber Markiplier? Why yes, yes I did. I couldn't keep the strange and out of place buzz in my chest from making my whole body shake. He may have actually stayed longer if I wasn't such an awkward fangirl. He'd probably want someone who he knew loved him for him rather than his videos or something. I couldn't even count the number of youtube videos of random fangirls confessing their love for Mark. They didn't know him and in a way, it sort of made me upset. It really shouldn't because I couldn't even blame them. This was only my second time meeting the guy and he lived directly above me - had to be hard for those who will never get the chance to see him.

I got out of the store and managed to keep it all in one bag which made carrying things easier. I brought it to the car and carefully placed it in the passenger's seat. On the drive home, I couldn't help but keep looking around the streets looking for him to be walking or driving a nice car. I was out of luck though and had arrived at the apartment not to long afterwards. As I made my way up the stairs, I heard a call from the flight above me. "Brielle?"

My eyes went wide suddenly and I looked up. Mark was looking over the railing, looking slightly disturbed. God, I must look like a total stalker. I waved my hands and the moment I opened my mouth to explain, the world combusted.

"I am sorry, actually, I can't be. Don't worry, I am not stalking you or anything. I actually live in the room right below you. I moved in about a month before you did actually. Seriously though, it's really weird coincidences but I promise, I am not just following you and-" I stopped when I realized that he was nearly frantic in waving his arms, recapturing my attention.

"Calm down. You just surprised me is all. Hope I don't keep you up at night," he smiled then walked into his apartment before I could respond.

_Oh if only you knew._


	3. A Spot of Courage

**Author's Note: **Haha, did I say I would get finished with my stories by the end of the year? Yeah, not going to happen. Sorry for the great delay guys. Turns out I am graduating high school a year and a half early so in ohh... about 17 days. Yeah.

* * *

It had been a couple of weeks since I last saw Mark - mid August. Of course he's mostly in his apartment or out doing normal things while I sit around my apartment, watching his videos, or out being an adult - to a point. Mind you, that meant grocery shopping and work to pay for rent. I sat on my couch, thinking hard about what I was doing here. Perhaps fate threw us together at the right moment. Maybe I'm just thinking like a fangirl and was letting my imagination run off with me.

Either way, I decided that I was going to ask him out. Of course I realized that we would just start out as friends, in fact, that would probably be all we'd ever be. But he was a busy man - even when he wasn't playing games. I just had this feeling like I had to like it was now or never. I pulled myself together and made my way to the door. Just thinking about what I was about to accomplish for myself, I mean, finding the courage to ask out a major youtuber to lunch was enough to make my heart feel like it was about to drive out of my chest like a race car. I grasped the door knob to the pale white door. Was I really just about to do this? Yes. I had to. While I had the courage or stupidity to try.

I took a deep breath and flew the door open then quickly shut it behind me. I marched up to his apartment door as swiftly as I possibly could then stopped stone cold in front of it. Oh my god, I was doing this. It took everything inside me not to turn around and walk back to my apartment with the head drop of shame.

I knocked. Nothing. My breath stayed trapped like an airbag inside my lungs. I knocked again; closed my eyes tightly with a cringe. There was still no answer. I sighed and breathed out, somewhat relieved but somehow felt disappointed. I began to walk away, heart growing heavier with each step. Well, at least I tried.

"Hey, what's up?" My heart froze and my face flushed before blooming into a red blush and my startled heart thrown into a thrashing state that begin to hurt my ribcage. I quickly turned around, trying to catch myself and my breath as my eyes gazed over Mark himself. He was smiling, wearing a red woodsman like shirt with his hair fluffed up beyond the boundaries of any sane man. Then again, this was Markiplier. "It was you who knocked, right?" Mark asked with a chuckle, that casual smile of his displayed like a picture painted on by a perfectionist.

"Oh yeah," I breathed, gripping the hem of my shirt hard as I tried to gather my strength again. There was one thing that was difficult to gain back and that was courage, after the first twenty crazy seconds, it was harder to fake. "I-I was wondering if you'd have some time this week to... go out to lunch," I asked, a little spark in my mind quickly spiraling out into a wildfire as he took in my words.

A frown suddenly sprung onto his lips as he stepped outside of the door more and closed it behind him to think. After a moment, which really did feel like forever, he sighed slightly - seemingly irritated. "You know, I'd love to but unfortunately I am extremely busy this week. I'll see what I can do but there's no guarantee," he finally said, his face lightening slightly as he looked to me to either accept or reject the new arrangement. "I-," my mind got sucked into the oblivion of space. That was a yes, but no for now? "Alright, sure. S-sounds great," I grinned like a fool. I couldn't even believe that this was real life. Maybe I really was dreaming some how. I tried to shake it off for now. We said quick goodbyes before we went back into his apartment and I returned to mine. I couldn't get rid of the blush for the rest of the day. Even into the night, I could hardly control myself from flapping my arms wildly in a completely embarrassing dance of happiness.

The next day I woke up, and for a moment, had forgotten. It didn't take long for my brain to kick in and remember the events from yesterday. Once again, I began to silently fangirl as I giggled and shoved my face into the pillow. I completed my morning routine of barely a quick brushing of my hair, put on lounging clothes, and drink some ice water to try and wake up. It was almost noon when I was standing in the living room, looking for a book to read from the bookshelf when there was a knock on the door. My heart skipped a beat as I automatically thought it was Mark. I practically flew to the door and flung it open.

It was just the Jehovah Witness. If I was just a bit meaner or in a more creative mood, I would have fallen to the floor and start to twitch madly while acting like I was possessed by the devil. I soon closed the door. Not even a minuet later the door knocked. "I am sorry, I really don't -" I stopped.

I am sure it could be guessed who decided to show up early. "So guess what? I made some time!"


	4. Lemonade - Crunchy Ice

"So where are you planning on us going?"

I looked at him, dumbfounded. My jaw parted from my face for a few seconds before I regained my composure as best as I could. "Actually... I am not even sure. It was kind of just... in the moment thing," I chuckled, feeling embarrassed.

"Ah," he nodded and he looked away slightly as he thought. His face then brightened up and he gave a beautifully toothy grin. "I know just where to go. Come on," he smiled as he started to walk away.

My eyes widened and my heart jumped into my throat. I hadn't even brushed my teeth yet! I was pretty sure I looked like a mess and was hardly wearing anything that could be considered 'going out' clothes to be seen in. "W-wait, I need to get ready!" I said to him quickly, just about to turn around and fling myself back inside so I could get ready in a jiffy.

Mark turned around for a moment, his features calm as he looked over me for a quick second then smiled. "You look fine."

A soft red color found it's way to my cheeks and I smiled and nodded. I few in for just a second to get some shoes on and then swiftly closed the door behind me and jogged a little to catch up to him, walking beside him. There was a strong flutter in my stomach as I walked beside him even though I tried to calm myself down. I tried to pry information off of him about where we were going but he just seemed to smile and shrug it off, keeping it a surprise. Gee, he seemed to really like having surprises. And I knew we weren't going to the oh-so popular Chipotle because we would have had to drive. On the way to wherever we were going, we just talked like it were any other day.

"So what made you say yes to me? I am sure there's a few billion people who would love to have this chance," I chuckled.

"Nah, just a few million," Mark grinned then laughed. His laugh was so contagious. "Anyways, I don't go outside as often as I should. You gave me an excuse to get off my butt and enjoy the sunshine."

We laughed some more and I had to restrain almost every time from making a reference to his videos. I figured that there were plenty of fans that would love to just talk on and on about his videos but he deserved a break every once in a while. Some how, we eventually got into talking about rain.

"God I miss it. There's something so special about hearing it, seeing it, and even smelling it. I loved getting to look through the windows and see it fall down over the trees and the grass, you know?" Mark mused with a smile.

"Oh yeah. I always hated missing the chance to dance in it. I don't understand how people could _not_ like the rain. It's like when people don't like to read books. I feel like they're cutting themselves off from a part of themselves which keeps them from living fully," I said with a light thoughtful sigh.

He looked at me, his brow furrowing slightly with a smile as he thought about it. "Some people live in super rainy conditions and get tired of it I guess. Besides, its sometimes not everyone's choice what they like," he then said.

I nodded and replied, "well yeah, of course. Is there anything you like that you wish you didn't?"

Mark suddenly went silent for a moment as he looked at me with a pause. I am not sure why, but for a moment, I started to feel tense and nervous. It suddenly fell away as he shook his head and smiled. "Nope, not that I can think of."

We eventually arrived. It was a small restaurant that had an almost old look to it as if it had been in this spot since the 40s. Maybe it had. We went inside and read a sign that said to seat yourself. He lead me over to a small booth by a window and sat down on opposite sides of the table. It didn't take long for a waitress to come up to us and give us the menu and ask if we knew what we wanted to drink. Mark ordered some coffee and I asked for the strawberry lemonade.

"Truth be told," he started after the waitress left, "I've never eaten here before. I always wanted to."

I smiled and gave a soft snicker, moving some of my hair away from my face. "Well, I am just giving you a lot of excuses to do things today, aren't I?"

"Which certainly isn't a bad thing, at all," Mark smiled making me smile with him.

After some time, we got our drinks and then both ordered cheeseburgers with fries. The lemonade was fantastic which I commented to Mark. He smirked and told me that the coffee was alright too. It felt so strange to be in such a calm and happy situation. It was as if we had done this so many times before with how casually we reacted. There were a few blips here and there of awkwardness but that was expected from two introverts. It still boggled my mind to know that Mark was an introvert but I suppose it made sense when one spent so much time on the computer. Or playing games.

Not much more was said between some jokes and laughter. It felt good to just take in his presence in the silence. The food was pretty great once it arrived. Everything seemed to feel so right. "Hey Brielle," he started slowly after having a sip of coffee and looked at me with those handsome eyes.

"Yes?" I smiled, looking back at him.

"Next time I don't have too much going on, it'd be nice if we could do this again," he smiled. There was something almost nervous in his voice which I had never quite heard before.

"Of course, I'd love too," I nodded which seemed to make him smile quite a bit. We finished lunch and I made sure to pay for the both us before Mark had a chance to. We started our way home, both of us feeling quite happy and refreshed.

Once we got to the apartments, we said goodbye. "I had a really great time," I grinned. He nodded and replied, "and next time, I am buying." We laughed and I went inside only to rush to the window and see that he seemed to pause at the door, not quite leaving yet. After a moment, he just smiled to himself and shook his head then started to head up to his own apartment door. I flopped myself down on the couch and couldn't stop smiling.


	5. Do be Lasagna

**Author's Note:** Well guys, this story is coming to an end. I reckon it will end on the tenth chapter so you have been warned! Thank you guys so much for sticking with me as I struggle to get some chapters out but your reviews are refreshing and are literally what keep me going. Again, thank you and enjoy.

* * *

It wasn't the last time we went out for lunch. At the same place, around the same time, we'd go to the little restaurant. It started out as once every other week then slowly turned into once a week. Eventually, time rolled easily into October as the smell of autumn blossomed in the air. Our lunches became less about the food we got and more about what we would talk about. By now, I felt like I was such close friends with him despite not having known him all that long technically.

"...and so then I had to start the whole thing over again! Can you believe that?" Mark shook his head, arms crossed as he leaned on them pressing down on the table. He wore a simple black shirt with a blue hoodie and blue jeans.

"Oh my god, that's just sad," I laughed, leaning back in my gray shirt; green jacket; and black pants.

"Yeah, it was one big catastrophe. Oh well, what's done is done and at least I got it out in time," he talked about the video, brushing his hand quickly through the 'floof' of dark colored hair he had.

"I can imagine. It definitely could have been worse. Like, the world could have exploded," I said with a deadpan face then made a little explosion with my hands with mighty epic sound effects. We both went into a small fit of laughter at the absurdity of the situation.

Mark then calmed down though his genuine smile remained brilliantly. I could tell that he was beginning to think of something as his gaze wavered slightly and his brow furrowed a bit. His dark brown eyes then glanced at me making a flutter of warmth ignite inside my stomach. I swallowed down on it hard to try and make it go away. I lifted an eyebrow in curiosity and a smile pulled up playfully on my own lips as I looked back at him.

"What on earth is on your mind?" I asked with a slight chuckle.

"Ehh... I was just thinking-" he started but then I intervened with a, "that's a dangerous thing to do." We both giggled then I gestured to him to continue on.

"How would you like to have dinner with me? I mean, there are only so many things we could get off of the lunch menu," he laughed, an edge of nervousness in it.

"Well, sure, you know I wouldn't turn down food," I grinned. I could play it off rather cool for now as the words didn't settle into my mind deep enough to meet the fangirl troll part of my brain that allowed me to act wildly. I would never act as crazy as one of those screaming girls at a Beatles concert but maybe that level of intensity... on the inside. "What time? Just say the word and I'll be there," I added confidently.

"Actually...I was thinking that you could hang out at my apartment. There's this game I think you'd like. How does Halloween night sound? About seven? I'll already have the videos for that day recorded that morning so that shouldn't be a problem," he explained to me.

I listened to him and my heart beat kicked up a notch as the fangirl troll in my head began to stir. We sometimes talked about gaming before but he had never invited me to play like this, especially not at his own place. To any other fangirl this would sound like the fluffy start to a kinky fanfiction but I knew Mark's intentions were more innocent than that. It was dinner and a game after all. I was absolutely sure he did that with all of his friends on a normal circumstance so I was just honored that he considered me being a part of that sort of circle of friends he had. The worst that would happen is that he'd make some dick jokes and depending on the rage level, whether he'd have to punch a ghostie goo in the gonads or not.

"Sure, sounds great. Want me to bring anything?" I asked with a more goofy grin displayed.

"Nah, just your own beautiful self," he laughed and I nudged him slightly with a chuckle. He often called ladies and people in general beautiful and handsome and wonderful - especially over twitter - but to hear it come from him, face to face, always resulted in at least a slight blush on my face as I took the words to heart.

We continued to talk a little more though there suddenly seemed to be a different aura about Mark. It was pleasant and yet slightly off but I didn't say anything about it to him. Eventually we got up and left the restaurant and he drove me home. We decided to start taking his car since it was getting colder. He never did get to pay for the meal since I made a deal with him that as long as he drove, I would pay for our food. It was a decent enough exchange seeing as I hated driving in LA... or just in general really.

It was about a week away from Halloween night and as each hour passed and each day drew closer, I couldn't help but felt ecstatic and nervous. I looked through my outfits and how to do make up and hair styles and such but by the time Halloween day rolled around, I ended wearing no make up with my hair down messily with nothing fancy on. I didn't even think to wear a costume which I figured I didn't need to when I saw that Mark hadn't worn any silly costume in his videos for that day. It was really strange watching his videos while knowing him in real life. But at the same time, it made them even better. Knowing what a genuinely awesome guy Mark was made his expressions through the camera more realistic. The only thing that freaked me out a bit is now it looked like he was looking directly at me each time he had glanced into the camera during the video.

It was practically seven on the dot when I knocked on the door. I waited for a moment, hearing only silence. I knocked again and that's when I heard a bit of scrambling, then it sounded like he accidentally ran into the wall, almost tripped, and then finally got to the door.

"Well hi there," I laughed as he opened the door.

"Hiya- come on in!" Mark smiled and opened the door wider to let me step in.

It was a little messier than I expected. Articles of clothing dashed around here and there, boxes scattered around like peperoni pieces on a pizza slice, and the obvious explosion of creative gifts from his fans.

"Sorry, I meant to clean up more but I just got so busy with editing that it practically sucked up all my time for-" he started to ramble before I stopped him.

"Hey, it's fine. I am not the most organized person myself. Besides, it's not like you need to impress me. You do that enough through your incredible gamer skills by dieing a couple hundred times before getting a puzzle and what not. Speaking of which, what game were you wanting us to play?" I laughed, a playful glint in my eye. I wasn't much of a gamer myself so I was one to be talking about skills.

"Oh, you'll see. But after dinner. Unless you really want to play the game first but then the food might be cold by then... anyways. I hope you like lasagna because I totally made it from scratch and not from the box and just heated it up in the oven or anything," he grinned.

"Are you kidding? Meat? Cheese? I am in," I rolled my eyes and laughed.

We sat down on the couch with our plates to eat on the table in front of us. It tasted good, after all, it had been pre-made I mean "totally made from scratch". After we finished, Mark seemed to get even more excited and jumped up then gestured for me to follow him. He ended up leading me to his PC where two chairs were already set for us. He took the one on the left then made a dramatic spin to face me before I went to sit down in the unoccupied one.

"Well, Brielle, are you ready to play a game?"


	6. The Game is Afoot

I immediately recognized the NewGrounds style. This game was nowhere being subtle about its greatness, nowhere being quiet with it's free to use music, and nowhere being less awesome and overpowering with epic proportions. The music of impending doom attacked us from Mark's computer as we both got our hands at the ready on the single keyboard. The air suddenly became intense and it felt like we sat there for what felt like hours. Then finally - it started. Stick Figure Ninjas.

What started out so serious and intense quickly snapped into a silly battle of who could make weird noises every time one of us hit the other or at least attempted to. I am pretty sure our neighbors thought we were having some kind of really freaky ritual that involved sacrificing the knights that say 'NI!' and pirates. I made several laughs made of pure evil as I won a round and soon took the lead. How long had we been playing? A half an hour? Two hours? I couldn't tell as we made a swift transition from Stick Figure Ninjas to a different game and then to another and then a short cool game till we somehow ended up doing Table Tug.

After playing quite a few rounds of that, he looked at me and gave a dark sinister look. I looked at him and let an eyebrow go up, trying my best not to laugh at him because I always had a tendency to laugh in the face of 'danger'. "Well, Brielle, I bet you were expecting a scary game to begin with. BUT! I then threw you off with my expert skills and deliberate tactics with silly games to make you think that we would never come around to playing a scary game. Now... we cut to the core of Halloween. Don't worry though... this is just a little pixel horror."

Mark stood up with a grin and said nonchalantly, "go ahead and start playing. I'm going to go grab something." Before I had the chance to ask him for an explanation, he disappeared off into the other room.

I grinned and decided to play along, figuring he was out to give me a good scare. I started to play the little pixel horror and didn't find it to be all that terrifying. It was a really quiet game, mainly involving the sound of footsteps and breathing. But it kept glitching out. The character would suddenly spin around at random times without my consent and would switch the controls of the buttons on me. Only some of these were not quite glitches and really was meant to build up that spooky-scary atmosphere factor. Just to give it a dash of true creepiness, it would black out here and there with something just barely visible sliding its way in and out of view. I was never able to catch what the image was of but it made me smirk thinking of what Mark's reaction would be. Speaking of which... it had been at least ten minuets since he left.

I didn't have to wait long before I heard a long scraping sound. It made me jump and cover my mouth quickly as I had a brief flashback of Pyramid Head from Silent Hill. A smile soon crept onto my face. Is this how he was going to play it? I kept from giggling as I continued to play the pixel horror. About five minuets later, I heard Mark start to hum creepily. He obviously had to do it rather loudly so I could hear it from outside the room.

I got up and began to follow the humming. He was started moving away from me as I neared the spot he had been at previously. He had turned off all the lights and every time I reached for the switch, I could feel that tape had been placed over it. This was all obviously part of his brilliant plan. I couldn't help but start to whistle to keep myself from grinning. It was a good thing our apartments were so alike apart from the clothing items tossed beneath my step here and there or else I could have very well fallen in the dark and broke a finger or a neck or something. Or a spontaneous Markiplier.

This game turned into a hunt for each other. My whistle and his soothing hum were slowly and carefully chasing after each other; had it been day time on any other day they would have sounded quiet innocent. I stopped whistling after realizing that I couldn't hear his humming anymore. My smile turned into suspicion as I could only hear my own foot steps and breathing like the pixel game. "Oh Markimoo...? Where are you hiding?" I giggled.

I then swallowed slightly as no answer came from the darkness. I strained my eyes to see through the black veil that was my vision but there was nothing, not even the light from a dvd player being on and plugged in. I kept searching for him, feeling briefly over the couch, around the living room. How did even know if I was close by or not? The hairs on the back of my neck began to rise as I knew he was watching me but had cleverly hid himself. I didn't even know it was possible for him to stay so silent for so long.

"Right behind you," his deep voice purred. I jumped and closed my eyes, a naturally reaction from whenever I watched Mark's scary videos and there had been a jump scare. I laughed it off nervously and turned around and reached out to feel his chest or face. I yelped in surprise and then shook my head as I felt that it must have been a rubber chicken mask under my hands on what seemed to be a camera tripod. You clever son of a gun.

I started to back up and then squeaked in surprise as I ran into something solid. I took in a quick deep inhale through my nose as something wrapped around my arms and torso. "Gotchya," a voice spoke into my ear.

After a pause of silence, I turned around in his arms and wrapped my own around him. "I've got you too," I whispered. He obviously wasn't expecting this as we both stayed quiet for a few minuets with our arms wrapped around each other.

My heart was thudding so loudly, I was sure he could feel it beating through my chest. The silence was only broken slightly but the sounds of us breathing; listening to each other. My face began to burn with blush as I realized I could hear his heart beat too and it was going nearly as fast as mine. Gently, I turned my head and rested it against his chest. I closed my eyes as I felt his embrace tighten slightly.

His hand then began to slide up feather like over the side of my arm; into the curve of my neck; cupping the side of my face. I slowly lifted my head and let my arms flow upward as if I had just pressed my arms against a door frame and let them float. They reached his face and I could feel his jaw stubble underneath my palms. I smiled when I felt his warm cheeks rise slightly as he breathed in with a happy smile. I suddenly just felt so right. Standing here. Enveloped in his warmth, feeling every slight imperfection of his skin, loving every flaw in the dark that the eyes could not detect.

I felt his face move towards mine and almost naturally, I tilted mine the side. For a breath second I could feel the heat of his breath before his lips reached mine. His lips were softer than I imagined them to be but they seemed to melt into mine so perfectly. I could have sworn that our heart beats had become one as my hands began to move on their own accord. One began to grasp his shoulder while the other ran through the back of his hair and then held on gently. His hand fell lightly onto the dip of my neck, his other gently pulling on my hip.

Time broke down and faded into the darkness and was filled with this one moment. Holding onto each other as if we weren't going to see tomorrow. We broke the this only because breathing through our noses was getting to be too hard with how much our hearts were pumping for oxygen. The quiet was filled with our breathing once again.

I suddenly closed the small gap between us once more and hugged him tightly, my face slightly shoved into his chest. "Happy Halloween," I smiled.

Mark smiled and hugged me back firmly. "Happy Halloween," he replied quietly.

I think it was a silent mutual decision because I soon found myself at the door, holding his hand. I opened it and let it swing open. The cool October air breathed over the warmth of my skin and I saw the light for the first time since being in Mark's computer room. Turning around with my hand still in his, it was almost strange to look back and see his glowing face - wondering if I had really just kissed him. "Have a good night, Mark."

"Good night, Brielle."

Our hands slipped away and I began to walk away, forcing him to close the door. I hadn't realized how lonely my hand felt without his entwined with it. As soon as the door had shut, I paused in my steps to look back at the door and smile. I could have sworn that I saw movement in the window after I had managed to start moving again to get into the warmth of my own apartment.


	7. My Hero

**Author's Note: **If you wish for this story to have a happy ending, this is a fantastic chapter leave on. However, the true ending will be on the tenth chapter. this one was really lovely to write since it's in the wee hours of the morning and indeed raining outside. And if you want to have the ultimate fan girling /shivers experience, I highly suggest you listen to watch?v=rqTmYyXeNfY around the time they are both standing at the window towards the end of the chapter. Really.

* * *

I sat alone in my apartment room. A week had gone by since the kiss; the last time I saw him. I think we both needed a bit of time to think about what happened. In the mean time... I still watched his videos. It was a habit of mine and hard to break despite knowing what had happened. I hadn't known how good of an actor Mark was though because if he had been thinking about the kiss at all, he certainly didn't show it through his videos. It was probably a good thing since the fangirls could almost sniff out romance behind the scenes.

At times, I had to pause my computer and just walk away for a bit because my eyes would draw almost automatically to his lips. I wish I could stop thinking so much about it, it was just a little kiss after all, but somehow different. It certainly hadn't been his first kiss and it hadn't been mine... it wasn't the fact he was a famous youtuber because I couldn't really care less... it was just... him. I could name every cliche and it still wouldn't exactly put into words what I felt. I guess that was the thing about feelings - they were meant to be felt and not perfectly explained.

I almost started to gag at my self, rolling my eyes almost continuously through out the days. Finally, by the end of the week, a knock had arrived and I opened the door to reveal Mark. He must have arrived after just uploading his two videos for the day. He looked slightly nervous but confident as I let him inside. We both sat on the couch awkwardly for a moment before he seemed to dash away his thoughts and take hold of my hands in his.

"Brielle," he began with a deep breath, "I need you."

My eyes widened and my first instinct was to jerk back but if anything, I seemed to lean in a little closer. "What do you mean you need me?"

"I... I really don't know," he laughed slightly and shook his head. "I used to be so stressed out about what people said about me. I mean, some of it was constructive criticism and the rest was water off a ducks back but-" he paused with a frustrated sigh. "It's really demanding and people are always saying that they could do better than me, and believe me, I want them too because it's so fantastic when they believe they can do something. I encourage them to be the best they can possibly be. And I really try too. But since meeting you... since going out on those casual lunches... I feel such a sense of freedom from it all. I am really happy to be helping so many people and I try to work harder and I could work harder-"

I suddenly reached out and hugged him tightly. He went silent and I hugged him a little tighter. Whenever he went off on his ramblings or started to sob in his videos, I had felt helpless to do anything but watch. I felt so happy that I could finally comfort him because sometimes, when he was up there all alone in his own apartment room... I could still hear him crying.

"Thank you Brielle... thank you _so_ much," I heard him sniffle.

Tears started to form in my eyes as I took in a sudden breath, the air having trouble moving smoothly as I got choked up and pressed my face into his shoulder. I never knew I could mean so much to anyone like this, especially not Mark. I had grown to be friends with him and that fact alone astonished me. But what he was telling me now... that he was confessing to me that he wanted to be more than friends... that he needed me... it suddenly made me feel so important. Like I was put here to protect him in this moment, even if for just a small time.

"I am just... a silly little fan girl...I am really not that specia-" I was stopped abruptly when Mark moved away from me and then his lips were suddenly pressed against mine once more. I closed my eyes and turned it slightly, feeling as we held onto each other tightly.

Time fluttered away then fell back as he gently pulled away and I reopened my eyes to his beautiful face, a few tears still speeding down his cheeks. "You... are so important. Fan girl or not. Every person on this planet is special to someone... and you're special to me. More than you could ever know."

I smiled but my laugh choked and turned into a sob and so Mark took me in his arms and just held me. We sat there for so long. We cried together, breathing in air like it was new to us. I slowly stopped crying as I listened to his heart beat as my head had rested against his chest. Listening to it gave me the same feeling of timelessness and calmness that rain did. A gentle pattern of sound letting us know that we were alive.

I lifted my head just for a moment to look at Mark and saw that his eyes were closed and he had drifted off to sleep. I smiled and quietly pulled the blanket off the back of the couch, moving as little as possible, and covered us both up with it. Mark and I stayed like that for a couple of hours, eventually making me fall asleep too. By the time I woke up it was the evening time because the sky was getting dark outside my window and my apartment was delightfully filled with the scent of rain. I sat up and stretched and only then realized that Mark was no longer on the couch.

"You missed it but it rained a little outside. I hope you don't mind, I opened the window a little to listen to it," I heard Mark's voice tell me gently as I saw him come out of the small kitchen area.

"Not at all. It's probably part of the reason I slept so well," I smiled and watched him as he took his seat beside me again. A small gap of silence sat between us for a moment before I started to speak again.

"What are you going to tell your fans?" I asked the obvious question.

Mark sighed lightly, his head hanging down a little but he seemed to already have the answer as he gave himself a small nod of the head for reassurance. "I am not going to tell them anything yet. If you want me too, I will, but some of my fans have a hard time knowing where to draw the line."

"Yeah... I've seen some of those fans. Normally the over-attached fan girl can be quite scary but they're all bark and no bite. However, I think we should wait a bit. Maybe in a couple of months, yes?" I smiled a little and held his hand in mine.

"Yeah," the youtuber looked at me and smiled.

Another pause of silence went by as we both took a moment and to think. There were so many things that could happen but, even so, Mark was the only one that mattered to me. I had been heavily bullied in my youth and so some mindless taunts and rants from jealous fans seemed like nothing to me as long as I had Mark by my side.

"You've helped me through so much," I finally breathed.

"I mean... I certainly wasn't going through something hard all the time but there were a few occasions where I was. Or some days where I just needed a little help to find a reason to smile. Or those fantastic days when I felt like I was on top of the world and then you put me on your shoulders and I was some how even higher. I've been through some okay relationships and I've been through some not-so-okay ones. I've gained some friends and I've lost some friends still while watching your videos. But... I never thought it was your videos that helped me... it was always just... you. You have no idea how happy it makes me for you to say that I have helped you in even the smallest way. I wish I could give back as much help as you have given to me but no matter what - you are never alone. I will always be here to help you when you feel stressed like the world is on your shoulders. No matter where I am, even the smallest bit of me will stay with you forever."

I didn't know why I felt like I needed to say so much to him. But it was as if it were the only thing he needed to hear in that moment and I let my heart spill out and speak for me. It seemed to hit him a bit hard as he tightened his grip on my hand and once more his eyes were red and teary.

We hadn't known each other for very long, at least not in person, but it didn't matter. We sniffled and laughed then both got up and went to the window as it started to rain again. I leaned in and took in a deep breath and smiled as I felt his arms wrap around me from behind and rest his chin on my shoulder. We stood there for a while, watching the rain fall lightly outside.

He then pulled me away from the window and place one hand on my waist and the other in my hand. "I am sorry if I am not that great of a dancer but I figured since it was raining..."

I smiled and shook my head a bit and put my other hand on his shoulder. "It's perfect."

Slowly we began dancing in circles around the apartment living room. The rain sounded so light but not light enough to be unheard. I could just live in this moment forever. And in a way, I did.


End file.
